Spring festival proves Kohat a peaceful city : Afridi

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Kohat:
Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi has said that the Spring Festival
2019 has totally transformed the global perception of Kohat.

Taking
to media here on the concluding ceremony of five-day Spring Festival observed
here in Kohat Garrison, the Minister said that Kohat is gateway to tribal
districts of Kurram, Orakzai, Khyber, North Waziristan and South Waziristan.
Holding of a five-day festivity regarding the Spring Festival speaks volumes
about the peace and development taking place in the region, he added.

“You
must have seen the civil, military unity and solidarity expressed on the eve of
this festival. The participation of diplomats of from fourteen countries speaks
volumes about the successful event and now these diplomats would act as
ambassadors of peace for Pakistan and they would tell the world about peace and
development taking place in this part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) which was
previously known as threat to world peace,” said the minister.

The
minister said that this march to peace was not easy and rather it has cost
Pakistan dearly. He said thousands of
Pakistanis from civil and military background have laid down their lives to
defeat the scourge of terrorism and now the world needs to honour these
sacrifices.

In
today’s event, the culture and craftsmanship of all provinces and federating
units is being depicted to showcase to the world the economic and cultural
strengths of Pakistan. This also sends a message that Pakistanis are one
resilient nation and they would stand united to defeat all enemy designs.

“After
achieving durable peace, the development process has been started. By launching
deepening institutional reforms and a vibrant visa regime, we have opened
Pakistan to the world. Now investors, tourists are welcomed and all state
institutions stand ready and united to welcome the investors who would get
maximum profit in Pakistan. We have rich oil, gas, mineral reserves; we have a
lot to offer to the world. Just come and explore Pakistan,” the minister said.

The
minister said that visa regime had been revolutionised and entire Pakistan had
been opened for exploration. He said that visa fee had been almost withdrawn
while online visa, on arrival visa policy had been launched. He said recently a
tourism summit had been held in Pakistan to showcase the rich tourism potential
of the country for the world.

The
minister warned that some hostile forces were trying to paint a negative
perception of Pakistan, so it was necessary for the world to come and see
Pakistan’s true image.

“As
the saying goes, seeing is believing: We have invited senior diplomats who are
here today to attend the spring festival. Now they would tell the world our
story,” the minister said.

Responding
to Pakistan’s report to be submitted with the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) next week, the minister said that Pakistan was not acting against
proscribed organisations under pressure from the world. Rather, he said that we
have to transform Pakistan into a state that no one would ever point a singer
at it.

“We
have to do it for the good of our future generations. We are not complying with
the world under any pressure. We are taking all steps as a responsible and
credible global state”.

Spelling
out the measures taken by the PTI government, the minister said that by year
2015, there was no regulatory body to monitor the International Non-Government
Organisations (INGOs). He said that the PTI took actions against all proscribed
organisations across the board, taking all state institutions on board.

“The
government has taken over all religious seminaries, ambulances, dispensaries,
hospitals and other assets linked to the proscribed organisations. The
government has also released funds to run these assets,” he added.

The
minister said that in its last report submitted to the FATF, the federal
government had pleaded its case in such a professional manner that except
India, all the member-states had lauded Pakistan’s efforts, noting a reasonable
improvement. All stakeholders are working days in and days out to achieve our
goal, the minister said.

Shehryar
Afridi said that in past, whenever the FATF delegation came, Pakistan’s case
was weak because all state institutions were sending different vibes. However,
he added, all the government departments are working jointly to comply with the
world body now.

The
minister said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had taken exemplary
measures to curb human trafficking and money laundering and all land, air and
sea routes had been chocked which were previously used by proscribed
organisations to raise funds for their operations.

“Airport
Security Force, Customs, FIA, Coast Guards, Rangers, FCs, Army and other
institutions have built effective setups to curb illegal movement of money,
humans and drugs. We are fencing borders with our neighbouring countries. Our
message to the world is that Pakistan won’t allow its soil to be used against
any neighbour or distant country. Both Prime Minister and army chief are
monitoring these operations,” the minister said.

The
minister said that Pakistan would not adhere to ‘do more’ mantra by the world
and neither we would take dictation from the world. We have set our house in
order. Now it is the turn of the world to do more. Pakistan would plead its
case as a credible state and we will tell the world to do more now.